The Bruins visited Washington on Monday, April 15th to hopefully secure their second straight win. However, they had gotten shut out by the Capitals 2-0, who held on to the second wild card into playoffs. Charlie Lindgren made a total of 16 saves for Washington, and Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves for Boston. Both John Carlson and Nic Dowd scored for the Capitals in their victory. Boston has one game remaining, which is on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators back at the TD Garden. Hopefully, they can finish off the regular season before playoffs on a high note. Swayman did a phenomenal job only allowing two goals, keeping the Bruins in the game.
Bruins lineup against the Capitals:
Marchand – Coyle – DeBrusk
Heinen – Zacha – Pastrnak
Lauko – Geekie – Frederic
Beecher – Boqvist – Maroon
Lindholm – McAvoy
Wotherspoon – Carlo
Shattenkirk – Peeke
Swayman
Ullmark
Capitals lineup against the Bruins:
Ovechkin – Strome – Wilson
Protas – McMichael – Oshie
Pacioretty – Lapierre – Milano
Malenstyn – Dowd – Aube-Kubel
Fehervary – Carlson
van Riemsdyk – Iorio
Alexeyev – McIlrath
Lindgren
Kuemper
John Carlson put the Capitals in the lead with 8:00 on the clock in the first period with his 10th goal of the season. He scored off a pass from Dylan Strome at the center point with a slap shot. This goal also had been his fifth goal in his last 13 games. Recording the primary assist on Carlson’s goal, Strome got his 40th assist of the season, which had been the second time reaching the 40-assist mark in his career. He had a career-high 42 assists recorded in the 2022-23 season.
In the second period, neither team had any luck to get on the board or extend their lead. So, the Bruins and Capitals headed into the final frame with a 1-0 score. Nobody had scored until there had been very little time left on the clock in the third, and Charlie Lindgren made a total of eight saves in the third for Washington.
With 13 seconds left in regulation, Nic Dowd struck the Bruins’ empty net to record his 12th goal of the season after he had stolen the puck in the offensive zone for the 2-0 final. This had been Charlie Lindgren’s seventh career shutout.
Jeremy Swayman on the game overall: “I think it was really important that we had a game like tonight this late in the season. That’s what we’re going to see on Saturday, and we have to match that intensity. We didn’t get it done tonight so, we’ll go on the drawing board and we get to do it again tomorrow night,” – “It did – That’s exactly what we want for a formula moving forward. Obviously, we played all our guys and it’s important for us to keep that mentality that every game is a playoff game. So, as soon as we get there, it’s not going to be too big of a transition for us – It’s important to have these games and to get that amount of shots and short bursts. It’s good for all of us to see that kind of intensity and a worthy opponent. So, I think as a team, we could take a lot of positives in this game. But again, we didn’t get it done tonight so we still have things to work on.”
Charlie Coyle on the Bruins getting shut out 2-0: “They looked like a team that was fighting for a playoff spot, we looked like a team that was already in playoffs – that wasn’t good. We didn’t have our sense of urgency that we usually have, winning those pucks, and winning those battles – We didn’t do nearly enough of that.”
Notes:
– Late in the second period, Beck Malenstyn had taken a hit from Trent Frederic that resulted in him leaving the game. He did not make a return, and it had been said that his status would be determined.
– John Carlson has four points in a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists)
Season 4. Episode 14. West Coast Road Trip. – Bruins Benders Podcast
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